Erase or Zero (Slashy Version)
by JYAS
Summary: Len has gotten himself into a mess: he now has to choose between his girlfriend and his friend. Based on "Erase or Zero," hints of Kaito x Len. One-shot.


**Disclaimer: I don't own Vocaloid. If I did, Kaito and Len would never get a break.**

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><p>Len couldn't recall his face. His best friend felt betrayed, hurt, and <em>he<em> was the one who caused it. He wanted to fix it somehow, but he couldn't. There were only a few days left, and he was sure that there was no remedy that could work within that time. So, in his sea of despair, Len closed his eyes and recalled happier times...

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><p><strong>Past<strong>

"'Morning, Len-kun!" greeted Kaito cheerfully. His blue hair and matching blue eyes sparkled with a happiness that only Kaito could have that early in the morning. Len turned around eagerly.

"Kaito-nii!" he responded as energetically as he could. Suddenly, his energy left him, and Kaito had to keep an arm on his shoulder to keep him from collapsing.  
>"Are you all right, Len-kun?" Kaito asked with concern. Len sighed.<p>

"Yeah. It's just that Mondays are evil." He tried a grin, though it came off as rather pained. Kaito laughed in agreement. They continued walking to school together.

"Ah... the most amazing thing happened to me the other day," Len began, pushing some of his blond hair out of his eyes. He couldn't wait to share the news, and Kaito was similarly eager to hear it. "Hatsune-san asked me out!"

Kaito ruffled the blond's hair. "Nice, Len-kun! You've liked her for a while, huh?"

"Yeah, I know. She agreed to our first date on the 26th. That's next week!"

Kaito's face fell completely. His eyebrows furrowed, and he even stopped walking. "Len...?"

Len beamed back at him. "What's wrong, Kaito-nii? Isn't this great news?"

"Y-Yeah... of course." Kaito put on a fake smile. "I'm happy for you, Len-kun..." Len turned forward again, almost skipping. Kaito grimaced. There was nothing for it; he'd just have to be happy for his best friend. After all, Len had been waiting for this for a long time. Kaito should be supportive, because that's what friends...

...that's what friends were supposed to do. Be supportive.

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><p>Len bit his lip. Why did he do that? Why didn't he see? Why couldn't he have <em>thought<em>, have _known_, rather than be an _idiot_? His best friend in the whole world had been crushed because of his carelessness. Len didn't deserve an ounce of kindness.

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><p>"Um, Len-kun..." It was lunch, and Kaito sat next to Len in the cafeteria, as he always did. Kaito was 17, a senior, and 3 years older than the blond. Len had been the person closest to him for as long as either of them could remember, and neither years nor classroom arrangements could change that.<p>

"Hmm?" Len delicately consumed another chopstick's worth of rice. "What is it?"

"It's nothing. I was just thinking about... t-the weather is nice, huh?"

Len narrowed his eyes. Kaito could be an oblivious dork sometimes, but today he was being particularly stupid and nervous. "Yeah, it is. Look, if you want to-"

"And the end of the year is coming up," blurted out Kaito. The bluenette colored, hiding his face inside of his favorite scarf.

Len blinked. The end of the year _was_ coming up. Only one week until- "graduation," he thought aloud. "Hey, Kaito-nii, you're graduating soon, right? When was that again?"

"The 26th." Kaito said it so quietly that Len almost didn't hear it. Len shrugged. "In fact, their holding a post-graduation party afterwards... they've asked me to sing, and they said I could bring someone with me. You know, a duet or something."

"Sounds neat," said Len, grinning. "So, do you want to bring someone? I could try to hook you up with my sister that day. Rin'd get a kick out of it. She_ likes_ the spotlight." Len said it in a tone of voice that very clearly conveyed his dislike for attention. He was the shyer twin.

"No, not Rin."

"How about Luka, then? She's a teacher, you like her, and you could always say that her presence was comforting, or something. I bet she'd love to go out with a handsome guy like you."

"N-no, I don't think that would be a good idea."

"Huh." The bell rang. "Well, I hope you figure it out," Len said, getting up to leave. Kaito's thoughts whirred faster than ever, and, in a split second decision, he reached out for Len's arm.

"I do have it figured out," he said in a voice that Len had never heard before. It wrenched the younger male's attention. "I chose you, Len."

Len's eyes widened a bit, though he wasn't sure why. Maybe it was Kaito's face or tone of voice, both of which were serious and authoritative. Maybe it was the fact that Kaito was gripping his wrist so hard that it cut off most circulation. Maybe it was the fact that in all the years he had known Kaito, Kaito had never called him just by his name. Maybe it was what his response would have to be. But he found himself shaking his head, his knees on the brink of collapse. "Thank you, Kaito-nii, but I have a - date - that night. I can't."

Immediately, Len wished he hadn't spoken, hadn't met Kaito, hadn't _existed_ at all. The look on his friend's face was one of acute pain. _Len_ had put it there - and all over one stupid date.

Kaito tried to smile, in order to assure his dear friend that it was okay... but the smile wouldn't come. He tried words. His throat failed him, too. It was all he could do to not break down in tears. He wasn't angry; just sad.

Len hesitated, but in the end just left. Kaito didn't get up until Len was gone.

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><p>Len felt like more than idiot. He felt like a jerk. Sure, this was the first date he had ever been on (he <em>was<em> only 14 years old), and this was the amazingly well-bred, beautiful Hatsune Miku. He wouldn't get another chance to do this until next school year, and Miku might not like him if he doesn't agree to this date. In a way, this was his only shot.

But none of that really mattered, did it? Kaito would only graduate high school once, and he had even been nice enough to choose Len as his partner at the graduation party... and Len had turned him down. For a stupid date. Even though he _should_ have known about the date of graduation. Even though he should be supporting the most important person in his life. Yeah, he was really feeling like a jerk right now.

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><p>"Geez, Len, you've been really depressed recently. What's up? Did your boyfriend dump you?" Rin asked as she peeled an orange.<p>

Len glared at her. "For the billionth time, Rin, I'm a boy!"

Rin laughed. She sat down underneath the kotatsu with her brother, placing a bowl of unpeeled oranges in front of her. "I know. So is that the problem?"

"No."

"Then what is it?"

"Kaito-nii."

"I thought you said it _wasn't_ a boyfriend."

"Ri-" Len restrained the urge to strangle his twin. "His graduation is coming up."

"And he asked you out?"

On second thought, Len always wanted to be an only child anyway. "Shut it. He invited me, that's all."

"So...? Why don't you go?"

"Because I've got a date with Hatsune-san, remember?"

"Drag her along with you, and problem solved!" Rin began peeling another orange after devouring the first.

"I can't do that..." Len pouted. "It'll seem like I'm not paying attention to her at all. What if she doesn't have fun?"

"Sigh... you can be so unromantic. Well, then just tell Kaito-nii that you can't go."

"I did. And he didn't talk to me for the rest of the day. He seemed really upset."

"Wow. You've got yourself into a mess, huh?" Rin sat in contemplative silence for a while. Then she remembered something. "Wait, didn't Kaito-nii tell you about his graduation months ago?"

"Yeah."

"Well...?"

"I sort of forgot."

"So first you forget about the most important day in his life, and then you plan a date with this amazing girl on that day, too? Poor Kaito-nii has it rough."

"Arg!" Len sat up and slammed his fists on the table. "I _get_ it, Rin: I messed up! Help me fix it!"

"I dunno, Len, I'm kinda on Kaito-nii's side here. _You_ did this to yourself, so you should get yourself out of it."

"Have I ever told you what a wonderful sister you are?" Len snapped icily.

Rin narrowed her eyes. "All the time, dear brother. I hope you do manage to somehow salvage the absolutely hopeless mess that you've gotten yourself into - not that I think you can." She stomped out of the room.

Len smacked his head against the table. Rin was right. He was _such_ an idiot. He just hoped that his date wouldn't be this awful,and that maybe Kaito would forgive him someday.

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><p>Len didn't have any right to hope for anything. If Kaito didn't forgive him, then he would deserve it. Why, then, was he grasping for solutions? The graduation was in 3 days, and the last 4 had been like living in Hell. Kaito didn't sit with him in the cafeteria, ignored him on the way to school, and otherwise pretended Len didn't exist. Len, on the other hand, was too ashamed to talk to the man who, up until a few days ago, was the one he could talk to about anything.<p>

And Len hated it. Life, himself, the graduation, the date, and maybe even Miku. Especially Miku. If she hadn't told him that she liked him, then none of this would have happened. What kind of horrible creature was she?

With these attitudes, the day slid around. Len escorted an exquisitely-dressed Miku to a nice restaurant and tried to smile at her. She was intelligent and well-mannered, so you'd think she'd be great for dinner conversation. Len didn't think so. Every word she said and every smile she graced him with made it harder not to scream at her, _Look what you've done! Because of you, Kaito-nii-_

Len drummed his fingers on the table to occupy them with something other than strangling his date. None of her sweet, feminine charms had the least effect on him. He couldn't even hear the sweet voice at the moment due to the rushing in his ears.

"Len-kun?" asked Miku. Len looked up at her. "Are you okay? You... haven't answered my question."

"Sorry, what did you ask?" he said as politely as he could.

Miku gave him a look that was some mixture of sadness and concern. "Len-kun, who is it?"

"Who is what?" Len asked.

"I'm sorry for calling you out here, Len-kun," Miku said sadly, "I didn't know that you had a girlfriend already. And you were nice enough to accept my invitation to dinner, too..."

Len twitched. What the heck? "Hatsune-san, I don't have a girlfriend. What gave you that idea?"

"What else could be distracting you? I just told you that my hair looked awful, and you didn't even blink an eye at me."

"Your hair looks wonderful-"

"Thank you, Len-kun, but that's not really my problem. You obviously have something or someone far more important on your mind. You've been really out of it in class, too, so I can tell. You should go take care of that."

"Hatsune-san..." Len didn't know what to say. He saw Miku as the truly nice girl she was now. It made him feel guilty to know that he had been such awful company, and embarrassed to have failed his first date, and yet Miku had been so understanding. There was only one person that was a better friend than she was. "Thank you, Hatsune-san. Or... Miku?"

Miku smiled sadly. "Go on, Len-kun. Maybe we'll do this again next year or something?"

"Yeah, I'd like that," he said, and waved the waiter over.

"No, it's okay. I dragged you out here, I'll pay," Miku said. Len wanted to protest, but decided against it. He ran out as quickly as he could. Miku watched him go. "To be honest," she said to the air, "I really liked you, Len-kun. And I know you won't have another date with me. But at least I had this evening..." A tear trailed down her cheek.

**Later**

Len glanced at his watch. It was 8 pm. Definitely too late for the actual handing out of diplomas, but he could hopefully be there in time for the performance... oh, god, there was no way that he could sing now, since he never practiced or prepared. He could watch Kaito, at least, he told himself.

When Len arrived at the place Kaito had told him about months ago, he was right about the graduation being over. He couldn't see Kaito, but there was a mob, and so there was a reasonable probability that he was in time for the bluenette's performance.

Len tried to get in, but the crowd of families and friends was just too much for him to get around. Desperately, he pushed through the mass of bodies, without any sense of where he was going. He ended up behind the stage. He was about to back up and confront the solid wall of people again until he saw a familiar blue blob.

"Kaito-nii!" he shouted involuntarily. He dashed across towards his best friend. Kaito (as it really was him) turned towards the noise just in time to be toppled over in a crushing hug.

"L-Len-kun?" asked Kaito uncertainly as soon as he could breathe again. Len beamed at the older male. "You made it!"

"Yeah!" Len's smile slid away. Soon, tears brimmed in his eyes. "I missed your g-graduation..." he said, trying not to cry. Wait, Len's a boy; he's not supposed to be crying! Even so, a tear escaped down his cheek.

Kaito brushed the tear away. "It doesn't matter. You're here now, right?" He smiled softly. Len nodded, still regretful. "What about Miku-chan?"

"Oh, I don't care about her anymore," said Len casually. "I can't wait to see your performance. I... haven't missed it yet, right?"

"No, but you're not going to watch it. You're going to be in it."

"Whaaat~? But I don't have any practice!"

"You'll do fine. Here are the lyrics, look them over. We're going up in ten minutes. Just follow my lead."

The performance had the crowd cheering. Len had managed to indeed learn the lyrics fairly well, and what he didn't know, he was able to figure out by watching Kaito. At the end of the song, as the final notes died out, Kaito looked over at Len, who smiled back.

Once they were done and backstage, the blond turned to his best friend. "Did you write that?" he asked.

"Yeah," Kaito said, bashfully. He averted his eyes in embarrassment.

"What's it called?"

"Erase or Zero."

"Cool name." Len didn't know what to say now. He wasn't completely sure if Kaito forgave him or not. "Are we... back to the way we were?"

"I don't know," said Kaito sullenly, "I ruined your date with Miku-chan. You can hate me, if you want."

"Kaito-nii, I would never hate you!" exclaimed Len in disbelief. "I thought you would hate me!"

"But..." Kaito was similarly speechless.

"I mean, even when I was frustrated, I blamed myself and Miku and the stupid people who set up graduation, but I could never be mad at you!"

"Oh," Kaito said, and they fell into silence again. Some person - probably the headmaster - was telling the crowd to enjoy themselves for the rest of the evening. When the speech was finished, the headmaster came to the back and saw the two boys sitting there.

"Good work, you two. You sounded lovely. Shion-kun, why don't you take your friend out front for the party? You both deserve a break."

Kaito looked over at Len. The bluenette stood up and offered a hand to the boy, who accepted it gratefully. They walked out, hand in hand.

"Wow, great job, Kaito-nii!" said a voice from the crowd. The pair turned to look at the owner. "My, Len, you little liar. I thought you said that you were a _boy._" Rin smiled slyly.

Len colored. "R-Rin!"

Kaito looked confused. "You're not a boy, Len-kun?"

"I am!" insisted Len, turning even redder. "Rin's just being stupid!"

"Whatever," said Rin, waving the comment away, "just ignore my brother, he's in denial. Congratulations, Kaito-nii! You're now officially an adult."

"Thanks, Rin-chan," said Kaito, smiling.

Rin leaned up to Len's ear and whispered, "But now that he's an adult, you better be careful. You don't want your dear Kaito-nii arrested for pedophilia, right?"

"Rin, just go away!"

"All right, all right, lie all you want! I'm just trying to help!"

"Are you okay, Len-kun? You look feverish."

"I-It's nothing, Kaito-nii."

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><p><strong>Believe it or not, I do indeed love Rin with all of my heart. Right after Len and Kaito, of course.<strong>


End file.
